A veteran lobbyist was socked with a $10,000 fee for filing five client reports late with the City Clerk – the first time officials have demanded such a penalty, The Post has learned.

The month that Richard Lipsky missed the deadline was January, which coincided with changes to the lobbying law aimed at improving transparency and to reduce the impact of lobbyists in the government process.

“As this is the first proceeding in which the City Clerk is enforcing the reporting requirements, there is no precedent to aid in determining an appropriate penalty for untimely filings,” the administrative law judge wrote.

He added that the fine would be knocked down from the maximum $20,000 to $10,000, plus late fees of $4,750.

The opinion claimed that the clerk’s office had reached out to Lipsky to alert him to the administrative law process, and that he didn’t show up for the hearings, which factored into the stiff fines.

But Lipsky insisted to The Post that he had been in the process of moving his office from one address to another and never received notice until after the law judge meted out the punishment.

“I’m hopeful we can negotiate a reasonable settlement,” said Lipsky.

The lobbyist has been a thorn in the Bloomberg administration’s side as he’s battled for clients like bodega owners and restaurants battling the ban on trans fats.